THE 4-CENTS-A-DAY FOLK REMEDY:
ESSIAC: THE SECRET'S OUT

From The Cancer Chronicles #18
©1993 by Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.

"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." Genesis 1:29
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It is sometimes claimed that alternative treatments are a cruel rip-off that further impoverishes desperate cancer patients. But what about Essiac (TM), a Native American remedy popularized by the late Canadian nurse, Rene Caisse (1889-1978)? While Essiac-type formulas are available at a reasonable cost in many health food stores, the brew is potentially even less expensive, since it is derived from weeds found in many backyards.

Essiac's use is growing in both the U.S. and Canada, where it is legal, but only for terminal cancer patients. Because of its underground popularity, some entrepreneurs have tried to cash in. Companies have come out with competing formulas to trademarked Essiac, some with deceptively similar names or claims to authenticity. Some patients complain about the confusion.

Canadian author Sheila Snow has been studying the question for 20 years. In a 1993 book*, she writes that "certain groups and individuals have been flooding the Canadian market with products reputed to be made from [the] original recipe." Naturally, "each distributor denies the authenticity of other competitor concoctions."

Yet, according to Snow, there is one way to increase the chances of getting an authentic version of Essiac—make it yourself, either from wildcrafted herbs or from those purchased from respectable dealers.

All companies agree that four basic herbs are always present in this Native American formula; some of these have immune-modulating properties (see R. W. Moss's Cancer Therapy, pp. 146-148). According to Snow, the authentic Essiac decoction can be homemade from ingredients obtainable from any good herb store. The prices we cite below are from one such firm, chosen at random from the New York phone book: Aphrodisia (The total cost of these dry ingredients is $21.74).

According to Snow, these dried herbs can be used to create enough liquid brew for a daily one ounce dose for 18 to 24 months. In other words, homemade, this treatment costs about4 cents per day. No wonder, in the era of $150,000 bone marrow transplants, Essiac is becoming more popular.

Snow gives complete instructions for preparing the brew. One thoroughly mixes these dry ingredients in a bowl, then pours the dry mixture into a wide-mouth glass jar and shakes well. One mixes 1 1/2 quarts of distilled water to every ounce of the dry mixture and boils it up in a stainless steel, lidded pot. After boiling hard for 10 minutes, turn off the heat, says Snow, scrape down the sides of the pot, and stir well. The pot then sits for 10-12 hours. To preserve a supply, one must sterilize the implements and reheat the liquid until it is steaming hot, but not boiling. One strains the mixture and puts it in bottles. The caps of the bottle are tightened and then and set aside to cool. Once the bottles are opened, they should be refrigerated, but not frozen.

It is important to question the source and authenticity of the herbs. For example, there are over 100 species of "sorrel" but it is important to make sure one is getting real sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella), and not some substitute, such as ordinary garden sorrel (Rumex acetosa).

The final product looks somewhat like apple cider or light honey and has a mild, earthy aroma and a flavor that some patients refer to as "punk"—a little like dry, decayed wood. To use, Snow says one should:

Shake the bottle gently to mix any settled sediment.
Take 1 oz. of the decoction in 2 oz. of hot water on an empty stomach, 2 to 3 hours after supper each night.
Refrain from food or drink for 1 hour after taking it.
Allow at least 3 hrs. to elapse between using Essiac and any prescription drug or treatment.

Some patients complain of nausea and/or indigestion after taking Essiac, says Snow. This may be because they take it on a full stomach. Large doses of burdock root tea have also been found toxic in certain cases. For more information, see the article on Essiac in Cancer Therapy as well as Snow.
NURSE CAISSE'S HERBAL BREW

13 (measuring cup) ozs. burdock root (Arctium lappa), cut into small pieces; $1.00 per oz.
4 oz. (scale weight) powdered sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella) herb; $1.75 per oz.
1 oz. (scale weight) powdered slippery elm (Ulmus fulva) inner bark; $1.40 per oz.
1/4 oz. (scale weight) Turkey rhubarb (Rheum palmatum) root. $1.35 per oz. (Powder before use.)

from another site
Four Key Ingredients to Making a home brew of Essiac Tea:
Burdock root (Arctium lappa)
Sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella)
Slippery Elm bark (Ulmus fulva)
Turkey rhubarb root (Rheum palmatum)
To make 1 cup of mix to brew with 2 gallons of distilled water:

Burdock root (cut) 1/2 cup
Sheep Sorrel (powdered) 3/8 cup
Slippery Elm bark (powdered) 2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons
Turkey rhubarb (powdered) 1 teaspoon

[Chop Burdock root into small pea sized pieces]

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly.
Measure out desired amount of dry ingredients.
Pour proportionate amount of water into pot.
Bring water to a rolling boil with the lid on.
Stir dry ingredients into boiling water.
Replace lid and continue boiling at reduced heat for 10 minutes.
Turn off stove. Scrape down sides of pot and stir mixture thoroughly.
Replace lid, let pot sit and cool undisturbed for 10-12 hours (overnight).
Reheat to steaming hot, but do not let it boil.
Turn off heat and allow herbs to settle for a few minutes.
Pour hot liquid through sieve to catch sediment.
Use funnel to fill sterilized bottles, put lids on.
Allow bottles to cool, then tighten lids.
Refrigerate.

Herb Storage: Three factors damaging herbs in storage are air, light and heat. If you properly control these factors dried herbs may last indefinitely. However, it is generally recommended that herbs shouldn't be kept for more than a year. Essiac Tea herbs are best stored in sealed jars in a dark place, baggies are ok for temporary storage. Don't store herbs in the refrigerator because condensation can get into the jars or bags.

A Comparison Of Essiac With Related Formulas
by Roger Lewis C.H.
Disclaimer: The following information is for educational purposes. It is neither diagnostic nor prescriptive in nature or intent.

Introduction
Basically, the Essiac story starts with the late Rene Caisse, a nurse who worked with a Native American Indian herbalist who taught Rene how to make the herbal preparation Essiac (the name "Essiac" is Rene Caisse's last name spelled backwards). The Essiac formula was and still is very controversial, not because of feared side effects or toxicity, but because there are widely known claims reputing Essiac to be a useful agent in the complementary/alternative approach to cancer therapy. Due to the ensuing legal controversies, it is only within the last decade or so that Essiac has been available to the public labelled as "Essiac". The official rights to the formula were sold by Rene Caisse to Resperin Corp., who were unable to bring the product successfully to market until the subsequent sale of Resperin to David Dobbie, an enterprising scientist from Campbelltown, New Brunswick. Soon, Elaine Alexander released a product called "Flor-Essiac", distributed by the well respected Canadian health food manufacturer/importer Flora of Vancouver. Resperin/Essiac sued and won, forcing a name change to "Flor-Essence".

Despite Resperin/Essiac's successful legal move to force Flora to officially avoid trademark infringements, the average consumer would be hard pressed to tell the difference, and more specifically, what these differences mean. The bad news is that it may be futile to invest money into a so-called herbal cancer cure because someone can rip off your formula without the true fear of retribution provided by drug patents. The good news is that consumers are offered a variety of products to choose from to meet their own needs with respect to taste, ease of preparation, ease of administration, and price, all factors which potentially have a positive impact by increasing the likelihood that customers will actually use the product. Keep in mind that Essiac often sells for $50 per ounce of herb powder (makes approx. 1 litre liquid, lasting approx. 5 days at the "cancer" dose). Flor-Essence (dry powder) costs $30 for three packs of herbs designed to make 3 litres of liquid equivalent to Essiac. If so, it is one fifth of the price of Essiac, and given the 3 months recommended as an "evaluation period", cost is usually a factor. The pre-made glass bottled Flor-Essence liquid is approx. 5 times the price of the powder at $22 per 500 ml (1/2 litre), making it an expensive alternative for those who want or need the convenience. The cheapest retail price for brand name Essiac is offered by the Ottawa Chemist, who sell it at their health food store/pharmacy for approximately $25, also available by mail, but not including postage. Finally, several recipies exist which approximate Essiac, and these are much cheaper. The recipe listed below is around $4.00 retail per batch equivalent to one ounce of Essiac. I lovingly refer to it as "Pseudo-Essiac", but I wish it to be clear that I do not know the secrets passed to Rene Caisse, and I am not trying to infringe upon Essiac's rights or its claim to the real formula.

1. What Is It Made Of?

Approximately 30 to 35 grams per batch (one ounce = 28.35 grams)
a. Burdock Root pieces (Arctium lappa radix) (cut/sifted) 10 grams
b. Rhubarb Root pieces (Rheum officinale radix) (cut/sifted) 5 grams
c. Slippery Elm Bark pieces (Ulmus fulva cortex) (cut/sifted) 5 grams
d. Sheep Sorrel Herb (Rumex acetifolia herba) (cut/sifted) 10 grams

e. Red Clover Blossom* (Trifolium pratense flora) (cut/sifted) 5 grams - (*=optional)

The brand name Essiac does not contain Red Clover (note: Red Clover should be avoided when there is internal bleeding or when the client is already taking blood thinners. Red Clover, and clover in general, contains a blood thinning principle known as "coumarin", from which the drug "coumadin" is designed synthetically, known commonly as "Warfarin"). Practitioners should make sure the client knows this, because internal bleeding can develop during the course of the illness, the client may eventually be placed on blood thinners, and because blood thinners should also be avoided immediately before surgery. Thus, while natural substances like Vitamin E and Red Clover may be indicated after the surgery, their use immediately prior to surgery may contribute to difficulties in the naturally accentuated clotting abilities of the blood immediately following surgery. Although common signs of blood thinning include bruising easily and nose bleeds, the interpretation of these symptoms is often subjective, and the further fact that internal bleeding is often without symptoms should make it clear to the client that it is absolutely necessary to involve medical professionals in making the decisions associated with using herbs to treat disease (see DISCLAIMER at top of page). A possible herbal substitute would be Yarrow Flowers (Achillea millefolium) if there actually is internal bleeding, because Yarrow has been used traditionally to stop bleeding.

2. How Much Does It Make & How Do I Make It?
One batch makes approximately 1 litre of liquid (about one quart), depending of course upon the amount of water you start with, i.e. if you begin with 1.6 litres of water & reduce the liquid by appropriately boiling/simmering, then you are left with one litre of prepared liquid. Both Essiac and Flor-Essence come with complicated instruction sheets outlining the overnight preparation process. I offer the following simple traditional decoction method: put 1 ounce of herbs in 1.6 litres of cold water, bring to a boil covered for 5 minutes, reduce to simmer for 20 minutes, cool, and strain. The refrigerated preparation keeps 3 to 5 days. Try a pinch of Vitamin C crystals dropped into the cooled liquid as a homemade preservative. It still needs to be refrigerated, but customers report it keeping up to one month. Regarding the type of pot used, ceramic, glass, and enamel are preferred to steel, which in turn is preffered over aluminum. These preferrences may have no foundation in fact, although traditional herbal preparation methods support the theory in general.

3. How Much Do I Take & How Do I Take It?
The normal dose is usually one ounce daily, diluted in an equal amount of of hot water (1:1 ratio). This makes a warming tea-like drink, and is meant to be consumed on an empty stomach, at least one half hour before a meal. The dose for cancer is reportedly 6 ounces daily in divided doses, i.e. 2 ounces, 3 times daily, presumably at hours such as 7:00 am, 3:00 pm, and 11:00 pm. Medium sized doses usually range from 2 to 4 ounces daily. Note that the regime is less important than the preparation, which means that it is preferred above all else to simply take the herbs, whether by using the complicated method of the above mentioned decoction, or by using so-called crude preparations made for consumer convenience, such as tea blends, tinctures, and pills designed similarly to Essiac.

4. Are There Any Side-Effects?
Although the product is considered safe, it will occassionally provoke diarreha in some people. This is often due to high doses used by people already prone to diarreha, especially, from my customer feedback, in thin women. Usually this problem is eliminated by adjusting the formula to use less Rhubarb and possibly less Slippery Elm, both laxatives, with Rhubarb of course being the stronger. Conversely, if there is constipation, the formula can be adjusted to include more Rhubarb & Elm. Otherwise, note that approximately 2% of people taking anything at all receive minor symptoms ranging from a headache to stomach distress. These are generally viewed as inconsequential "idiosyncratic" reactions, not true side-effects or signs of genuine toxicity. There is also the possibility that you could be allergic to the herbs, eg. if you have an Elm allergy, skip the Slippery Elm Bark. Finally, if you are on a low oxylate diet, avoid Sheep Sorrel, because it is high in oxylates, which can, for example, aggravate pre-existing problems with respect to the developent of crystal formations in the female urethra (again, See DISCLAIMER).

5. Is All Rhubarb Root The Same?
To the best of my knowledge, Rhubarb Root is similar to Cascara Sagrada Bark in the respect that it needs to be cure-dried for two years to mellow out the anthraquinone glycoside laxative chemicals inherent in both plants. Given that the Rhubarb Root in question is thus prepared, to the best of my knowledge, there is little if any significant difference in the anthraquinone levels of Chinese, Turkish, North American, Indian, and Indonesian Rhubarb Roots. I could be wrong. The recent issue of the American Botanical Council's prestigious journal Herbalgram (#36) has a more in depth article on Rhubarb which I am currently reviewing.

6. What About The Other Herbs In Flor-Essence?
I think they're appropriate but not necessary. If they are desired, it can be arranged with some difficulty, mostly due to the relative obscurity of Blessed Thistle and Stillingia, which may also add to the problem described above relating to Red Clover & blood thinners. Stillingia is undoubtedly a herb renowned for its ability to purify the blood. Thistles in general have a similar history. The seaweed Kelp is fairly safe, but it can disturb the taste of the formula. If desired, many other seaweed options exist, ranging from using it as a seasoning in food, to using pills or tinctures. Perhaps the most relevant criticism of the addition of other herbs is that there is a perceived bonus value associated with these additions which may not actually increase the effectiveness of the product, yet is very likely to increase the appeal to the consumer, i.e. it could be primarily a marketing ploy.

7. What Are The Doses For The Other Formats?
The tincture, eg. St. Francis' "4 Herb Combo", might be taken in doses ranging from 15 to 30 drops, one to six times daily in 4 ounces of hot water each time. Again, juice is a satisfactory substitute for the water. The tea can be prepared by using 1 tsp to 1 tbsp of herbs covered by 6-8 ounces of boiling water, then covered to steep 5 to 30 minutes, and consumed at a rate of 1 cup to 1 litre daily. Yes you can sweeten it if you need, and unpasteurized, creamed, white honey is often preferred. I have yet to see an Essiac "pill" per se, but I'm sure it's being made as I write this, with likely doses ranging from 2 to 12 pills daily @ 500 mg each. As to whether or not an Essiac "pill" would work as well as Essiac (assuming Essiac works)...who knows?

8. Why Not Use Powdered Herbs?
Powders are more effective, and freshly made preparations are preferred. Resperin did research to prove this, and part of its campaign against Floressence revolved around criticism of the pre-made liquid preparations. Basically, the tests showed that pre-made preparations should contain harmful bacteria, but Flora said their product did not, so Resperin argued that if this was the case then a preservative must be present. Flora eventually revealed that they were using Vitamin C as a natural (sic) preservative, and has since fully listed the other herbal ingredients previously regarded as secret. Labelling regulations are meant to protect consumers, and also are designed to help manufacturers protect proprietary trade secrets. Despite apparent ethical problems relating to copyright infringement, Flora did nothing wrong, and exists as one the very few Canadian health food manufacturers with the coveted GMP, i.e. the Good Manufacturing Procedures seal of approval. Also, many people have questioned the ethical foundation of any attempt to stifle the open proliferation of a possible cure for cancer, especially a cheaper one. This heated debate continues, because the other side contends that it is wrong to sell so-called analogues of Essiac because they lack authenticity, and thus are deceiving vulnerable sick people. While there is no doubt that the wide spread availability of Essiac-like compounds undermines the entire patent process, it seems absurd to try and patent what is arguably a traditional recipe. It seems to me like trying to patent spaghetti sauce. Still, despite the fact that the secrets of Ragu will always be different that than the magic of Chef Boyardee, you have to realize that when medicine is involved, the ethical standards are more serious. Personally, I do not prefer powdered herbs because chunky pieces strain off easier. These are important choices which you will obviously have to make for yourself. The End.

The Four Herbs

essiac combines the entire dried and powdered Sheep sorrel plant (Rumex acetosella), chopped and dried Burdock root (Arctium lappa), the dried and powdered bark of the Slippery Elm tree (Ulmus rubra) and the dried and powdered root of the ornamental Turkey Rhubarb plant (Rheum palmatum).

Anyone can make essiac. The individual herbs are not expensive to buy and when following Rene Caisse's original instructions, 225g /7.9 ounces of the combined formula will supply one person with sufficient herbal tea for one year.

Ingredients:
Sheep Sorrel
SHEEP SORREL (Rumex acetosella)
Sheep Sorrel is highly praised as a vermifuge. Intestinal worms have no resistance to the properties of this herb. A good remedy for stomach hemorrhage and profuse menstruation. Also extremely effective for kidney, bladder and liver problems such as gravel, stones and jaundice.

Vitamins: A, B complex, C, D, E, K, P and vitamin U

Minerals: calcium, iron, magnesium, silicon, sodium, sulfur, and trace amounts of copper, iodine, manganese and zinc.

Chlorophyll, the green pigment in the leaves and stems of sheep sorrel is concentrated sun power. It closely resembles the hemoglobin, the red pigment in human blood, but has as its center a magnesium atom whereas hemoglobin is constructed around the iron atom. Both carry oxygen through the bloodstream. It may:

• Inhibit chromosome damage to effectively block cancer.

• Reduce the damage of radiation burns.

• Increase resistance to X-rays.

• Kill germs and prevent the growth of harmful bacteria.

• By strengthening the cell walls, it may improve the vascular system, heart function, intestines, lungs and uterus.

• Relieve inflammation of the pancreas and purify the liver.

• Stimulate the growth of new tissues.

• Increase the body’s ability to utilize oxygen by raising the oxygen level in the tissue cells.

In the medicinal test conducted in China, Sheep Sorrel demonstrated clear tumor inhibition effect

Burdock Root
BURDOCK ROOT (Arctium lappa)
Burdock root is one of the best alliterative and depurative (blood purifying) agents in nature. It cleanses and eliminates impurities from the blood very rapidly. It beneficially influences the skin, soothes the kidneys and relieves congestions of the lymphatics. It increases the flow of urine and is useful as an agent for removing excess fatty (adipose tissue) and therefore is excellent in weight loss. It is wonderful for relieving all kinds of skin troubles, such as rashes, pimples, boils, carbuncles, scurvy, eczema, psoriasis itch, scrofula, syphilis, leprosy, cancer, wounds, eruptions, and cancer sores. It is beneficial in kidney and bladder disorders, fevers, and colds. Its excellent for gout and rheumatism, and is extremely good for advanced cases of arthritis in that it reduces swelling and deposits within the joints and knuckles. It helps break down calcification in the body. Vitamins: A, E, B1, C, K.

Minerals: Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Sodium, Silicon, Calcium, Selenium, Manganese, Sulfur, Iodine and Copper

Slippery Elm
SLIPPERY ELM (Ulmus fulva)
Slippery Elm possesses an abundant mucilage which will soothe, disperse inflammation, draw out impurities, heal rapidly, and greatly strengthen. It is healing to all parts of the body internally or externally. It is especially soothing and healing to the mucous membranes of the lungs and gastrointestinal tract. It is one of nature’s finest demulcents. It has a stronger ability to remove mucus than the other herbs. It is especially efficient in absorbing noxious gases and neutralizing any acidity in the stomach. Because of its mucilaginous nature, it insures easy passage during the process of assimilation and elimination, and is very useful in problems of the urinary tract and bowels. It is good for diarrhea, worms, as a sex stimulant, a poultice, and stops irritation of the colon and small intestines. It is also good for digestion and in cases of dysentery and other digestive upsets. Its action is so gentle that it can be retained by delicate stomachs when other substances will be rejected. It possesses as much nutrition as oatmeal and is an excellent sustaining food. This was an important botanical medicine and food for both the American Indians and pioneers. Slippery Elm is considered one of the most valuable remedies in herbal practice, having wonderful strengthening and healing qualities. Used extensively for inflammation of the lungs, bowels stomach, heart disease of the female organs, kidney and bladder. Slippery Elm will soothe an ulcerated or a cancerous stomach when nothing else will.

Vitamins: A, B complex, C, K, E, K and P

Minerals: Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium with a moderate quantity of chromium, selenium, and trace amounts of iron, phosphorus, silicon and zinc.

Rhubarb Root
TURKISH RHUBARB ROOT (Rheum pamatum)
Rhubarb root has been in use from 2700 B.C. in China and Tibet. The Hopi Indians used it to treat colds. It will stimulate, cleanse and tone the vital alimentary canal and intestinal tract. It is a valuable stomach tonic, increasing saliva and the flow of gastric juice, improving the appetite, promoting the action of the liver and flow of bile without catharsis, facilitating systemal vascularity and absorption. As a cathartic agent, it increases the circulation of the glands appended to the intestinal canal and increases peristalsis by stimulating the muscular layer of the bowel. It is highly esteemed (because of the milk-like quality of its action) as a laxative tonic for children and infants; it acts chiefly on the duodenum, generally does not clog or produce an after-constipation as so many of the active cathartics do. The tonic and astringent action following catharsis make rhubarb a valuable healing remedy for diarrhea due to irritating substance, the astringent or contracting properties check the diarrhea, and it tones the tissue and corrects the accompanying atonic ingestion. Its gentle action makes it desirable for persons bothered by hemorrhoids. The urine of a person taking rhubarb will often become quite red, which is the alkaline urine acting upon the yellow matter of the root. Vitamins: A, many of the B complex, C, P.

Minerals: Calcium, copper, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, silicon and sodium.

There are 2 herbal formulas for Essiac teas:

An Explanation of the Differences

The original Essiac formula which Canadian nurse Rene Caisse got from the Ojibway tribe in 1922 consisted of 4 herbs. This is the same formula which she successfully used in Canada for some 40 years. It is also the formula which she submitted to the Canadian medical authorities in 1937 for their evaluation. The herbs of this 4 herb formula are listed below with their percentages by weight:

Burdock Root: 67.7%
Sheep Sorrel: 21.6%
Rhubard Root: 5.0%
Slippery Elm Bark: 5.0%

Later in her life, Rene Caisse went to Cambridge, Massachussetts where she worked with Dr. Charles C. Brusch in his medical clinic. Dr. Brusch was a distinguished physican of great renown, and was John F. Kennedy's personal physican . While Rene Caisse worked with Dr. Brusch, she and Dr. Brusch would for certain patients, on occasion, add small amounts of other potentizing herbs to the Essiac formula. They were added in small amounts only, and the basic 4 herb formula remained the primary formula.

After Rene Caisse's death in the 60's, a Canadian radio announcer and researcher named Elaine Alexander visited with Dr. Brusch in Massachussets. She obtained from Dr. Brusch a formula for Essiac which contained the basic 4 herbs plus small potentizing amounts of 4 other herbs. She later set up a business to manufacture and distribute a brand of Essiac which she named Floressence. Some confusion was created when she claimed that her 8 herb formula was the only "genuine" Essiac product.

We consider both the 4 herb formula and the 8 herb formula to be valid. In each formula the main ingredients are Burdock Root and Sheep Sorrel, which Rene Caisse valued most. The small amounts of the other herbs function to assist the Burdock Root and Sheep Sorrel to do their job.

Many people get confused by the fact that there are 2 formulas, and do not know which Essiac formula to use. We have used and studied both the 4 herb formula and the 8 herb formula, and have decided to manufacture and sell the 8 herb formula. We consider it to be slightly better than the 4 herb formula. The really critical factor is not which formula to use, but that the herbs in the formula are of the highest quality. Listed below are the 8 herbs we use, and their percentages by weight: As you will note, the additional 4 herbs are added in very small amounts.

Our Bottles and Package of Dried Herbal Mix

Burdock Root: 60.5%
Sheep Sorrel: 19.5%
Rhubarb Root: 4.8%
Slippery Elm Bark: 4.8%
Kelp: 4.8%
Blessed Thistle: 2.4%
Red Clover: 2.4%
Watercress: 0.333%

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTONS
ABOUT ESSIAC ®

How long will Essiac® keep?

Once the Essiac® powder has been prepared, it will retain its potency and freshness for approximately 5 weeks, stored in the refrigerator.

Many of the alternative products, which are available in the marketplace, boast of having formulas the same as Essiac®. Why should you choose Essiac®?

There are many counterfeits of Essiac® in the marketplace. Whether they claim to be an improved formula, an enhanced product, or whether they claim to have Essiac® under another name or spelling of the name, they are all counterfeits making false and irresponsible claims. The manufacturers of these counterfeits are not selling Essiac®. They are not producing or selling the original formula developed and proven effective by Nurse Rene Caisse; they are selling their own formulas. Remember, it is impossible for a counterfeit manufacture, let alone improve upon a proprietary formula that they do not possess.*

How much Essiac® should you consume and for how many weeks?

The proper usage for Essiac® herbal formula would depend entirely on why you are choosing to take Essiac®. The daily protocols have been designed with you in mind. The customized programs ensure that you are consuming the suggested daily amount. The protocols are based on an uninterrupted 12 week program, so always ensure that you have enough Essiac® on hand.*

Can Essiac® be used in conjunction with other therapies and medications?

Yes, but consult your healthcare practitioner for more information.*

How does it taste?

Essiac® tastes like a herbal tea. It can be sweetened with honey, if desired.

Are there any side-effects?

Essiac® may be taken without any known adverse side-effects. Indian Rhubarb Root is known to occasionally produce more frequent bowel movements. Should this occur, reduce your dosage and consult your healthcare practitioner, if it persists.*

Essiac

Excerpted from Options: The Alternative Cancer Therapy Book
by Richard Walters (Avery Publishing 1993) on the HealthWorld Online site
Essiac, a harmless herbal tea, was used by Canadian nurse Rene Caisse to successfully treat thousands of cancer patients from the 1920s until her death in 1978 at the age of ninety. Refusing payment for her services, instead accepting only voluntary contributions, the Bracebridge, Ontario, nurse brought remissions to hundreds of documented cases, many abandoned as "hopeless" or "terminal" by orthodox medicine. She aided countless more in prolonging life and relieving pain. Caisse obtained remarkable results against a wide variety of cancers, treating persons by administering Essiac through hypodermic injection or oral ingestion.

The formula for the herbal remedy was given to Caisse in 1922 by a hospital patient whose breast cancer had been healed by an Ontario Indian medicine man. Essiac came within just three votes of being legalized by the Canadian parliament in 1938. Over the years, many prominent physicians voiced their support for the efficacy of Caisse's medicine. For example, Dr. Charles Brusch - a founder of the prestigious Brusch Medical Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a former physician to President John F. Kennedy-declared that "Essiac has merit in the treatment of cancer" and revealed that he cured his own cancer with it. In a notarized statement made on April 6, 1990, Dr. Brusch testified, "I endorse this therapy even today for I have in fact cured my own cancer, the original site of which was the lower bowels, through Essiac alone."

Despite such support, Rene Caisse lived under the constant threat of persecution and harassment by Canadian authorities. Today, Essiac is unapproved for marketing in the United States and Canada. However, Resperin Corporation of Ontario provides Essiac to patients in Canada under a special agreement with the Canadian Health and Welfare department, which permits "emergency releases of Essiac on compassionate grounds" while still deeming it "an ineffective cancer treatment." Another company reportedly has the authentic formula for the herbal remedy in Caisse's handwriting, plus eight of her formula variations for specific cancers, including cancer of the prostate. It recently made Essiac available through various distributors. A number of herbal distributors claim to sell the original Essiac tea. Prospective users should carefully weigh the background of all vendors and examine all claims with caution.

Rene Caisse refused to publicly divulge the precise Essiac formula during her lifetime, fearing that a monopolistic medical establishment would either try to discredit the formula or use it to reap enormous profits. Also, she wanted Essiac safe for immediate use on suffering cancer patients, but medical experts demanded prior testing on lab mice. Caisse repeatedly offered to reveal the exact formula and method of preparation if the Canadian medical authorities would first admit that Essiac had merit in the treatment of cancer. But the doctors and politicians argued that they realistically couldn't give any such endorsement until they first knew what was in the herbal mixture. The result was a stand-off.

The principal herbs in Essiac include burdock root, turkey rhubarb root (Indian rhubarb), sheep sorrel, and slippery elm bark. Burdock root, a key active ingredient, is also a major ingredient of the Hoxsey herbal remedy. As discussed in the chapter on the Hoxsey therapy, two Hungarian scientists in 1966 reported "considerable antitumor activity. in a purified fraction of burdock.1 In addition, as also discussed, Japanese scientists at Nagoya University in 1984 discovered burdock contains a new type of desmutagen, a substance uniquely capable of reducing cell mutation either in the absence or in the presence of metabolic activation. So important is this property, the Japanese researchers named it the B-factor, for "burdock factor."2 Another herb in Essiac, turkey rhubarb root, was demonstrated to have antitumor activity in the sarcoma-37 animal test system. Herbalists, however, believe that the synergistic interaction of herbal ingredients contributes to their therapeutic effects. They point out that laboratory tests on a single, isolated compound from one herbal formula fail to address this synergistic potency.

Through her work with cancer patients, Caisse observed that Essiac broke down nodular masses to a more normal tissue, while greatly alleviating pain. Many patients would report an enlarging and hardening of the tumor after a few treatments. Then the tumor would start to soften. People also frequently reported a discharge of large amounts of pus and fleshy material. Masses of diseased tissue were sloughed off in persons with breast, rectum, and internal cancers. After this process, the tumor would be gone.3

Caisse theorized that one of the herbs in Essiac reduced tumor growth while other herbs acted as blood purifiers, carrying away destroyed tissue as well as infections related to the malignancy. She also speculated that Essiac strengthened the body's innate defense mechanisms, enabling normal cells to destroy abnormal ones as Nature intended.

Even if a tumor didn't disappear, Caisse maintained, it could be forced to regress, then surgically removed after six to eight Essiac treatments, with much less risk of metastasizing and causing new outbreaks. "If there is any suspicion that any malignant cells are left after the operation," she stated, "then Essiac should be given once a week for at least three months, supplying the body with the resistance to a recurrence that is needed."

She wrote, "In the case of cancer of the breast, the primary growth will usually invade the mammary gland of the opposite breast or the auxilla, or both. If Essiac is administered either orally or by hypodermic injection, into the forearm, the secondary growth will regress into the primary mass, enlarging it for a time, but when it is all localized it will loosen and soften and can then be removed without the danger of recurrence."4 Caisse spoke from personal experience, having administered thousands of Essiac injections to gravely ill patients, always under the supervision of a physician.

In 1983, Dr. E. Bruce Hendrick, chief of neurosurgery at the University of Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, urged Canada's highest health officials to launch "a scientific clinical trial" of Essiac. In a letter to the Canadian Minister of Health and Welfare, Dr. Hendrick reported that eight of ten patients with surgically treated tumors of the central nervous system, after following an Essiac regimen, had "escaped from the conventional methods of therapy including both radiation and chemotherapy."5 Yet today, patients in Canada must go through a bureaucratic maze that makes it difficult or impossible for them to receive Essiac therapy.

The story of Essiac began in 1922, when Caisse, a surgical nurse working in a Haileybury, Ontario, hospital, noticed an elderly patient with a strangely scarred, gnarled breast. When Rene asked the woman, who was nearly eighty, what had happened, the woman replied that some thirty years earlier, she had developed a growth on her breast and an Indian friend had offered to heal it with herbal medicine. This woman and her husband then went to Ontario, where doctors confirmed the diagnosis of advanced cancer and told her the breast would have to be surgically removed. Opting instead to take her chances with the Indian herbal healer, the woman returned to his mining camp and drank the brew daily. Her tumors gradually shrank, then disappeared. Over two decades later, when Caisse stumbled across her in the hospital, she was still totally cancer-free.

Caisse asked the woman for the herbal recipe. "My thought was that if I should ever develop cancer, I would use it," Caisse later wrote.

In 1924, Caisse's aunt, Mireza Potvin, was diagnosed with advanced cancer of the stomach and was told she had six months at the most to live. Remembering the Indian brew, Rene asked her aunt's physician, Dr. R. O. Fisher of Toronto, for permission to try it on her dying relative. Dr. Fisher consented, and Rene gathered the herbs to brew the tea. After drinking the herbal concoction daily for two months, Mireza Potvin rallied, got well, and went on to live another twenty-one years.

Soon Caisse and Dr. Fisher teamed to treat cancer patients who had been written off by their doctors as terminal. Many of these patients, too, showed dramatic improvement. Working nights and weekends in Toronto in her mother's basement, which Rene had converted into a laboratory, she and Dr. Fisher experimented on mice inoculated with human cancer. They modified the combination of herbs to maximize efficacy. It was at this point that Rene named the herbal treatment Essiac (her name spelled backwards).

One of Rene's first cases was a woman who had cancer of the bowel complicated by diabetes. In order to avoid further problems, the patient stopped taking insulin in 1925. Under Essiac therapy, the woman's tumor at first became larger and harder, almost obstructing her bowel. Then, as she continued her Essiac injections, the tumor softened, got smaller, and disappeared. Oddly enough, the woman's diabetes also disappeared during the course of Essiac treatment.

Dr. Frederick Banting, world-famous as the codiscoverer of insulin, reviewed this case in 1926. According to Caisse, Dr. Banting concluded that Essiac must have somehow stimulated the pancreatic gland into normal functioning, thus clearing up the diabetic condition. If this reported result is true, Essiac would appear to have potential in the treatment of diabetes.

Nine doctors petitioned the Canadian federal health department in 1926, urging that Caisse be allowed to test her cancer remedy on a broad scale. In their signed petition, they testified that Essiac reduced tumor size, prolonged life in hopeless cases, and showed "remarkably beneficial results," even where "everything else had been tried without effect."

In response, Ottawa's Department of Health and Welfare sent two investigating doctors armed with official papers to arrest Nurse Caisse or restrain her from practicing medicine without a license. When Rene explained to them that she was treating only terminal cases and accepting only voluntary contributions, the two interrogators backed off. One of them, Dr. W. C. Arnold, was so impressed by Caisse's clinical reports that he persuaded her to continue her experiments with mice at the Christie Street Hospital in Toronto. In that series of tests, mice implanted with human cancer responded to Essiac injections by living longer, their tumors regressing.

In 1935, the Town Council of Bracebridge turned over to Rene Caisse for one dollar-per-month rent the old British Lion Hotel for use as a cancer clinic. Over the next seven years, Caisse treated thousands of patients in this building, which had been repossessed by the village for back taxes. This unique arrangement came about after Dr. A. F. Bastedo of Bracebridge referred a terminally ill patient with bowel cancer to Caisse. Dr. Bastedo was so impressed by the patient's recovery, he persuaded the town council to make the hotel building available to Rene.

Shortly after the clinic opened, Caisse's seventy-two-year-old mother, Friselde, was diagnosed with cancer of the liver, inoperable because of her weak heart. One of Ontario's top specialists, Dr. Roscoe Graham, said she had only days to live. Rene began giving daily injections of Essiac to her mother, who had not been told she had cancer. After ten days of treatment, Friselde Caisse began to recover. She regained her full health, with diminishing doses of Essiac, and lived another eighteen years before passing away quietly from heart disease.

"This repaid me for all of my work," Rene reflected years later, "having given my mother 18 years of life which she would not have had. [It] made up for a great deal of the persecution I had endured at the hands of the medical world."6

After word of Caisse's impressive results spread to the United States, a leading diagnostician in Chicago introduced her to Dr. John Wolfer, director of the tumor clinic at Northwestern University Medical School. In 1937, Wolfer arranged for Rene to treat thirty terminal cancer patients under the direction of five doctors. Rene commuted across the border to Chicago, carrying her bottles of freshly prepared herbal brew. After supervising one and a half years of Essiac therapy, the Chicago doctors concluded that the herbal mixture prolonged life, shrank tumors, and relieved pain.

Dr. Emma Carson, a Los Angeles physician, spent twenty-four days inspecting the Bracebridge clinic in 1937. A skeptical investigator who originally intended to stay in Bracebridge for just a couple of days, she scrutinized the clinical records and examined over 400 patients. In her detailed report, Dr. Carson wrote:

Several prominent physicians and surgeons who are quite familiar with the indisputable results obtained in response to "Essiac" treatments . . . conceded to me that the Rene M. Caisse "Essiac Treatment" for Cancer is the most humane, satisfactory and frequently successful remedy for the annihilation of Cancer "that they had found at that time" . . .

I also visited, examined and obtained data at patients' homes where they were pursuing their business vocations as ably as if they had never experienced the afflictions of Cancer. They declared their restoration to normalcy was indisputably due to Miss Caisse's "Essiac" treatments.... They emphatically declared "were it not for Miss Caisse's Essiac remedy for Cancer, they would have departed from this earth" . . .

As I examined each patient regarding intervening progress during the preceding week and recorded notes of indisputable improvements . . . I could scarcely believe my brain and eyes were not deceiving me, on some of the most seriously afflicted cases....

The vast majority of Miss Caisse's patients are brought to her for treatment after Surgery, Radium, X-Rays, Emplastrums, etc., has failed to be helpful, and the patients are pronounced incurable. Really the progress obtainable and the actual results from "Essiac" treatments and the rapidity of repair was absolutely marvelous and must be seen to convincingly confirm belief.

Another independent investigator of the Bracebridge clinic was Dr. Benjamin Guyatt, a University of Toronto curator and anatomy professor. After making dozens of inspections of the clinic during the 1930s, Dr. Cuyatt summarized his findings as follows:

The relief from pain is a noticeable feature, as pain in these cases is very difficult to control. On checking authentic cancer cases, it was found that hemorrhage was readily brought under control in many difficult cases. Open lesions of lip and breast responded to treatment. Cancers of the cervix, rectum, and bladder had been caused to disappear. Patients with cancer of the stomach, diagnosed by reputable physicians and surgeons, have returned to normal activity.

. . . The number responding wholly or in part, I do not know. But I do know that I have witnessed in this clinic a treatment which brings about restoration, through destroying the tumour tissue, and supplying that something which improves the mental outlook of life and facilitates reestablishment of physiological functions.7

Supporters of the Bracebridge nurse presented a bill to the Ontario parliament in 1938 to allow Caisse to treat cancer patients with Essiac free from the constant threat of arrest to which she had been subjected. Over 55,000 people signed a petition supporting the bill, including patients, their families, and many doctors. The bill failed to pass by three votes.

This set the stage for the creation of the Royal Cancer Commission, which many believed was a judicial farce. Comprised of six orthodox physicians with expertise in surgery, radiation, and diagnostics and led by an Ontario Supreme Court justice, the commission was charged with an impartial investigation of alternative cancer therapies. Public hearings opened in March 1939.

Even though 387 of Caisse's patients showed up to testify, only 49 were allowed to be heard. One after another, patients and ex-patients testified that Rene Caisse had restored them to health and saved their lives after they had been given up as dead by their orthodox doctors.

Annie Bonar testified that her diagnosed uterine and bowel cancer had spread after radium treatments until her arm had swelled to double its size and turned black. Weighing ninety pounds the night before she was to have the arm amputated, she opted for Essiac therapy instead. After four months of the herbal treatment, her arm was back to normal and she had gained sixty pounds. A series of X-ray exams revealed she was cancer-free. The Royal Commission, however, listed Annie Bonar's case as "recovery due to radiation."

Walter Hampson, another patient of Caisse who testified, had cancer of the lip, diagnosed by a pathologist. Refusing radium, he underwent Essiac therapy and was restored to normal. Despite the fact that he had never had an operation (other than the removal of a tiny nodule for analysis), the commission classified his case as "recovery due to surgery." These examples could be multiplied many times.

In addition to misattributing recoveries, the Royal Commission also labeled numerous cases as "misdiagnoses," even though the patients had been diagnosed as definitely having cancer by two or more qualified physicians. Using duplicitous tactics like these, the commission was able to conclude that "the evidence adduced does not justify any favourable conclusion as to the merits of 'Essiac' as a remedy for cancer...."

In 1942, a disheartened Rene Caisse, fearing imprisonment due to her medical work, closed her clinic. Over the next thirty-odd years, she continued to treat cancer patients in great secrecy from her home. Documents indicate that she was under surveillance by Canada's Health Department during the 1950s.

At the age of seventy, in 1959, Caisse was invited to the Brusch Medical Center in Massachusetts, where she treated terminal cancer patients and laboratory mice with Essiac under the supervision of eighteen doctors. After three months, Dr. Charles Brusch, eminent physician to the New England elite, and his research director, Dr. Charles McClure, concluded that Essiac "has been shown to cause a decided recession of the mass, and a definite change in cell formation" in mice. "Clinically, on patients suffering from pathologically proven cancer, it reduces pain and causes a recession in the growth; patients have gained weight and shown an improvement in their general health.... Remarkably beneficial results were obtained even on those cases at the 'end of the road' where it proved to prolong life and the quality of that life.... The doctors do not say that Essiac is a cure, but they do say it is of benefit."

The Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research tested one of the herbs in Essiac, sheep sorrel, between 1973 and 1976. Caisse sent a quantity of the herb to Sloan-Kettering, along with detailed instructions on how to prepare it as an injectable solution. On June 10,1975, Dr. Chester Stock, a Sloan-Kettering vice president, wrote to Rene: "Enclosed are test data in two experiments indicating some regressions in sarcoma 180 of mice treated with Essiac" (emphasis added).8 Despite these promising results, the tests ground to a halt when Rene was horrified to learn that instead of boiling the herb, as she had instructed, the scientists were freezing it.

In 1977, Rene sold the formula for Essiac to the Resperin Corporation, a Canadian company. Resperin's tests on Essiac, though initially encouraging, dragged on for years. Patients in Canada seeking Essiac through the government must first find a physician who will sponsor them and submit the appropriate official form. The physician should contact the Health Protection Branch of the Canadian Health and Welfare department to arrange to purchase the product from Resperin Corporation. The physician's request should roughly read: "I have a patient who has (type of cancer) affecting (body parts or organs). I request permission to treat the patient with Essiac on an emergency basis." The physician should mail the request to the Health Protection Branch, Bureau of Human Prescription Drugs, Director's Office, c/o Emergency Drug Division, Tower B- Second Floor, 355 River Road, Place Vanier, Vanier, Ontario K1A 1B8. Many doctors are reluctant to do this, however, fearing establishment pressure or ridicule. Even if the necessary forms are submitted, permission to use Essiac is not always granted.

A report issued in 1982 by the Health Protection Branch of the Canadian Health and Welfare department finds that "no clinical evidence exists to support claims that Essiac is an effective treatment for cancer." This blanket condemnation ignores sixty years of clinical documentation and observational evidence as well as laboratory studies. The report says:

In 1982, 112 physicians who had received Essiac under these circumstances, were asked to submit case reports. Seventy-four responded on 87 cancer patients. Of these, 78 showed no benefit.

Investigation of the nine remaining cases revealed that the cancer was progressing (four cases), the patient had died (two cases) or that the disease had stabilized (three cases).

Of this last group, all the patients had previously undergone some form of cancer treatment which could have stabilized the disease.

The report does not explain why only 74 of the 112 physicians responded. Were the other 38 doctors perhaps afraid to submit responses favorable towards Essiac, fearing orthodox ridicule and peer pressure?

It is also not clear whether the 78 patients that "showed no benefit" experienced a reduction in pain or an improvement in appetite. These important components of cancer care are generally not counted as a benefit in such studies.

Were any of the 87 patients, all severely ill, given intramuscular injections of Essiac, as Rene Caisse so often administered in advanced cases? Critics of the report say that no patients were given intramuscular injections.

Was the herbal mixture prepared correctly, or were the herbs possibly frozen and damaged, as was done at Sloan-Kettering? Were the oral doses given frequently enough? Neither answer is known.

In three cases, "the disease had stabilized." What does this mean? Had the cancer stopped growing? If so, that is highly significant.

What about the four cases where the "cancer was progressing," plus the two cases where the "patient had died"? Why are these counted among the "remainder" rather than among those that "showed no benefit"? Doesn't that mean they did show some benefit, and if so, what were the benefits? The report does not say.

Even a casual analysis of these poorly run trials illustrates the bias that pervades much of the research purporting to be objective and scientific.

Gary Glum, biographer of Rene Caisse, calls the Canadian government report an outright deception. He says that some of the people listed in the report as "dead" were actually alive and well and that a number of them showed up on Caisse's doorstep in 1978, the first year of the study, to thank her profusely for having saved their lives. Glum views the report as one more attempt by Canada's medical orthodoxy to discredit Essiac.

A Los Angeles chiropractor, Glum spent three years researching Caisse's story. In his biography of the nurse, Calling of an Angel (see Resources),9 published in 1988, Glum says he obtained the formula for Essiac from a woman who had achieved total remission of her cancer after treatment by Rene. This woman, according to Glum, was given the Essiac formula in writing by Caisse. The unidentified woman, as Glum tells it, tried to alert the world to the efficacy of Essiac in treating cancer, and in the late 1970s, she took her case as far as the Michigan Superior Court but was then constantly harassed by FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) and FDA officials.

Glum says that he later verified the authenticity of the Michigan woman's formula with Mary McPherson, an Ontario woman who was Caisse's close friend. McPherson lived and worked alongside Caisse for many years, after the Bracebridge nurse cured McPherson's mother of cancer in the 1930s. McPherson confirmed by telephone that she did in fact meet with Glum and that his formula was indeed correct, although there were variations that Rene occasionally used.

Glum's critics contend that the formula Glum gives in an instruction sheet accompanying his book is inaccurate. They charge that it is missing at least one key ingredient and is drastically off in the ratios of the various herbs. The critics allege that Glum's version of Essiac is not the true Essiac and that it is potentially harmful to patients.

Glum steadfastly denies this. He points out that he put himself at great personal and legal risk to divulge what he maintains is the correct formula. He asserts that he is the only person in the alternative cancer field who has openly publicized the exact details of a purported cancer cure, unlike others who keep the details of their therapy secret, or proprietary. Thousands of copies of Glum's book were seized and held at the United States-Canada border by Canadian authorities, who say the book is advertising of an unapproved drug. The book was finally allowed into Canada through the strenuous efforts of a high-ranking Canadian politician, yet thousands of confiscated books have still never been released, according to Glum.

Glum says he paid the unidentified woman $120,000 for the Essiac formula and insists that he will never recover the money. He claims that his formula is identical to the Essiac tested by medical researchers in the Soviet Union and China when Resperin officials were attempting to interest the medical establishments there in a cancer cure.

According to Glum, the herbal potion prepared by following the instructions supplied in his book has helped many cancer and AIDS patients get well. Some AIDS patients taking the herbal tea report that drastically low T-cell counts have risen to normal.

Sheila Snow, who coauthored a pivotal 1977 article on Caisse for Canada's Homemaker's magazine, believes that Glum's version of Essiac "is the recipe Rene used in the 1930s when she prepared the remedy in her Bracebridge clinic for hundreds of patients, and quite conceivably the one passed along to the Resperin Corporation for its clinical studies." In a July 1991 article on Essiac in the Canadian Journal of Herbal Medicine, Snow gives the exact recipe and preparation instructions presented by Glum. In her opinion, "We owe a large debt of gratitude to Dr. Glum for having the courage to take on this enormous responsibility-no small task! -- at great personal financial expense, time and energy."

Dr. Charles Brusch, cofounder of the Brusch Medical Center where Rene worked in 1959, reported in a letter dated August 3, 1991, "I have been taking this [Essiac] myself since 1984 when I had several cancer operations, and I have every faith in it. Of course, each person's case is different as well as each person's own individual health history.... Someone may respond in a week; someone else may take longer, and whether or not someone is cured of cancer, the Essiac has been found to at least prolong life by simply strengthening the body."

Brusch went on to note that "I was given the true original formula by Rene when she worked with me in my clinic." He added that he passed along this authentic formula to Canadian radio producer-broadcaster Elaine Alexander of Vancouver, who had been following the Essiac story for twenty years and had interviewed on her program many cancer patients who had been cured through Essiac. Documents indicate that in November 1988, Brusch transferred Caisse's herbal formula to Alexander, who then arranged to have the product manufactured and sold through a distributor. Alexander's Essiac is offered strictly as a nutritional product, under a different brand name, with the manufacturer making no claims regarding its reputed value in treating cancer.

Alexander points out that the method of preparation, the precise ratios of the ingredients, and the correct dosages are all crucial to Essiac's efficacy. She says that Caisse continually improved on Essiac over the years through experimentation and that she believes Glum's version of Essiac may be "an early, primitive version" of a formula Caisse later strengthened and perfected. Alexander further claims that the various "specious facsimiles" of Essiac on the market can be quite dangerous.

Testimonials from cancer patients who achieved complete remission or considerable improvement using Essiac are obtainable from Elaine Alexander. These remarkable letters document cases of the last fifteen years and encompass many types of cancer, including pancreatic, breast, and ovarian cancer; cancers of the esophagus, bile ducts, bladder, and bones; and lymphoma and metastatic melanoma.

Muriel Peters of Creston, British Columbia, one of the people who wrote to Elaine Alexander to describe her experience with Essiac, was diagnosed in 1981 with a malignant tumor the size of an orange on her coccyx, the triangular bone at the base of the spine. She underwent surgery a week later. The surgeons told her, "We got it all," but according to Muriel, "By the time they had found the tumor, it had begun to flare up the spine among the nerve endings, so they could not cut there." She had twenty-nine radiation treatments following the surgery. In September 1982, sensing numbness in her lower abdominal area, she went to the Cancer Clinic in Vancouver and was told by a head surgeon that the tumor had spread to her spine and was inoperable, and nothing more could be done.

When her brother-in-law mentioned a man with cancer who had been given three months to live but was cured "somewhere down South," Muriel Peters followed up the lead. One month later, she visited the Bio-Medical Center in Tijuana, Mexico, and began the Hoxsey herbal therapy. Within three months, sensation returned to her lower abdomen, but this was followed by "three months of excruciating pain which no pills could relieve." She then began taking Essiac in liquid form, which she obtained from the Resperin Corporation through her doctor. After twelve days, the pain subsided. "From then on I was on my way up."

For the next year and a half, Muriel took Essiac daily. She also remained on the Hoxsey regimen, which consisted of an herbal tonic, vitamin supplements, and a special diet stressing fresh vegetables, greens, and fruits. "I felt the two complemented each other," Muriel explains. "Without the diet and the vitamins, I really doubt if either of the tonics would have been quite enough. The body has to rebuild what the cancer has broken down, therefore healthy foods are needed by the body to reconstruct itself."

About a year after she started her dual program, Muriel returned for tests to the Vancouver Cancer Clinic. Incredulous, the attending doctor told her, "For reasons unknown there have been notable changes in your body."

"When the doctor left the room," recalls Muriel, "the attending nurse asked me what I was doing to bring about these changes, and I only said, 'I'm on a diet and vitamins.' The nurse asked, 'On your own?' I replied, 'No, by doctors directing.' She then said, 'Well, as long as you're not going to Mexican quacks, as many are doing.'"

A complete medical checkup in September 1989 found Muriel Peters cancer-free and in excellent health. At sixty-eight, she reported, "I'm the healthiest person in British Columbia. I love life and living.... I have learned what life is all about." X-rays and blood tests in January 1991 confirmed her to be in complete remission, nine years after she was diagnosed with inoperable, "hopeless" cancer.

Elaine Alexander says she met a Vancouver physician who, in 1990, had spoken with an oncologist at Canada's Health Protection Branch in Ottawa. This physician, according to Alexander, was told by the government oncologist, "It is known, at this office, that Essiac is effective against brain tumors, especially brain stem tumors." Critics of Essiac will no doubt dismiss this story as a self-serving fabrication. Yet Gary Glum has a remarkably similar story. He recalls a man who telephoned him to say that his two-year-old daughter had been diagnosed with an inoperable, advanced brain tumor and was given just weeks to live. The man, according to Glum, was calling to thank him for writing Caisse's biography, through which he had learned about Essiac. His daughter had been saved by the herbal remedy and, at age five, was in perfect health.

Are these stories just a singular coincidence? Glum and Alexander do not speak to each other. Their relationship, if anything, is one of rivalry, each party feeling that he or she possesses the "correct" Essiac formula. So it is ridiculous to suggest that they "compared notes" in order to concoct similar accounts of Essiac's reported efficacy in treating cancer.

It is more likely that Caisse experimented with her basic recipe over the years and that some of the contemporary products purporting to be Essiac reproduce major variants of her formula. Confirming this theory would require exhaustive detective work beyond the scope of this book. Readers are urged to thoughtfully evaluate any and all claims. Caution is advised since a number of the purported versions of Essiac on the market today do not even contain the principal herbs, instead substituting one or more incorrect ingredients.

The Canadian herbal remedy developed by Rene Caisse is not being recommended in this chapter as a "magic bullet" for all cancers. There is no hard evidence on what percentage of Caisse's patients survived five years or more. Nor is there any reliable statistical evidence on the efficacy of contemporary Essiac or Essiac-like herbal formulas. Despite the dramatic, near-miraculous cures Caisse undoubtedly achieved, an unknown percentage of patients under her care succumbed to their disease, perhaps too severely ill to be treated.

The world has become an infinitely more polluted place since the 1920s and '30s, when Caisse did her pioneering work. Carcinogenic, toxic chemicals and radioactive isotopes that pollute our water, air, and food also reside permanently in the cells of our bodies, weakening our natural immunity and possibly making the remission of cancer more difficult. For these reasons, comb